Vitamin Angels' Thrive to Five Program Helps Mothers and Children Flourish

In our second blog post highlighting the achievements of Vitamin Angels, we look at its Thrive to Five program, which brings essential vitamins and minerals to children around the world.

The World Bank estimates that almost one-third of children around the world are undernourished. Sadly, we’re not just talking about picky eaters who aren’t keen on broccoli or Brussels sprouts—these children don’t have access to the basic, essential nutrients necessary for proper growth and development when they are in the womb, from their mother’s breast milk, or during childhood.

Without these vitamins and minerals, they’re at a greater risk of death, illness, and impaired cognitive development. According to Vitamin Angels’ website, “Approximately 8.1 million children under age five died in 2009. Undernutrition annually accounts for more than one-third of these deaths.”

Vitamin Angels reaches out to these children by targeting at-risk groups and supplying pregnant and breastfeeding mothers with multivitamins. This helps the health of both the mother and the child. A healthier child can lead to greater educational and economic success later in life—a key component for breaking the cycle of poverty.

The Thrive to Five program:

• reaches an estimated 400,000 children and mothers in nearly 30 countries
• is distributing an estimated 150 million doses of multivitamins this year
• has a network of more than 60 partners who are helping Vitamin Angels to find and reach out to the children who are the hardest to make contact with

You can learn more about the Vitamin Angels organization, including how you can help out, and stay tuned for future blog posts about the amazing work of Vitamin Angels. Plus, check out our previous blog post about Vitamin Angels’ Operation 20/20.